Thursday, 14 August 2014

PIA News Dispatch - Thursday, August 14, 2014

President Benigno S. Aquino lII led the
ceremonial distribution of newly acquired assault rifles to selected military
personnel at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) General Headquarters in
Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Thursday.

The acquisition of the rifles is part of the
government’s efforts to modernize the Armed Forces by enhancing the firearms
capability of its soldiers, especially those on the front line.

In his speech, President Aquino said the
military could now depend on their guns -- and not just their guts – in serving
and protecting the state.

Illustrating the military’s poor defense
capability, he recalled a story shared to him by Marines guarding the Kalayaan
Island Group.

He said there was an instance when the soldiers
were forced to paint a coconut trunk black to deceive their enemies, who were
pointing real cannons at them.

The government has acquired a total of 50,629
assault rifles for the AFP.

The President said the first batch of 27,300
rifles was delivered last July, while the remaining 23,329 units will be
delivered in December this year.

The acquisition of new firearms is part of the
Joint Philippine Army–Philippine Marine Corps Assault Rifle Acquisition Project
under the AFP Modernization Program.

Under the project, the AFP will receive a total
of 50,629 units of M4 rifles, 44,186 of which will go to the Army and 6,443 to
the Navy.

Due to a transparent bidding process, President
Aquino said the government was able to generate an estimated P1.2 billion
savings from the project.

The approved budget for the contract was about
P3.19 billion but the government acquired the rifles for only P1.94 billion.

The President said the savings will be used to
procure another 12,657 assault rifles for the Philippine Army, to be delivered
also in December.

The budget for the acquisition of rifles was
sourced from the AFP Capability Upgrade Program, which was organized in 2012.

President Aquino was joined by Defense Secretary
Voltaire Gazmin and AFP Chief Gregorio Pio Catapang during the event.

In his opening remarks, Catapang thanked the
President for the acquisition of the rifles, saying that soldiers are still
using early models of M16 and M16A1 rifles, which were used during the Vietnam
war. PND (jb)

Palace: It is up to the Justice Department to
assess court’s decision to transfer Palparan to provincial jail

The Palace will leave it to the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to assess a court decision to transfer former Army Major General
Jovito Palparan to the Bulacan Provincial Jail, Presidential Communications
Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said Thursday.

He was responding to a question on whether
Palparan would be safer at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention
facility than at the Bulacan jail.

Palparan, former commander of the Philippine
Army’s 7th Infantry Division, was captured early Tuesday morning, nearly three
years since the Malolos Regional Trial Court ordered his arrest over the
disappearance in 2006 of two students of the University of the Philippines.

He has also been accused of carrying out the
extrajudicial killings of suspected communist sympathizers during the term of
former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Malolos Regional Trial Court’s Branch 14 on
Wednesday ordered his transfer to the Bulacan Provincial Jail, prompting
Palparan’s lawyer to file a motion to prevent the move due to high security
risks. PND (ag)

Government focused on ensuring safety of
commuters in light of MRT mishap

The Palace said Thursday that ensuring the
safety of commuters is a major goal of the government.

Coloma further said that the Palace would
support the proposed creation of a body that will oversee the operations of
public transportation to ensure the safety of commuters.

At least 38 passengers were injured when a
wayward MRT 3 train overshot the tracks at the Taft Avenue station in Pasay
City around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Injured passengers were rushed to the San Juan
de Dios General Hospital, the Manila Sanatorium, and the Pasay City General
Hospital, according to police officials.

Before the incident, the train experienced
technical problems at the Magallanes station and became nonoperational.

It was being pushed by an operational train
toward Taft Avenue, the last station on the MRT line, when it disengaged and
overshot the tracks, reports said. PND (as)

President Aquino eager to feel the pulse of the
people, says Palace official

President Aquino's major concern is to feel the
people’s pulse to make sure that the reforms he has spearheaded in recent years
would become permanent and would benefit all Filipinos, a Palace official said
on Thursday.

"What is essential for the President is to
know the sentiments of his bosses, the Filipino people," Presidential
Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said in a press
briefing in Malacañang.

"He will continue to listen to them so he
will know their views on how to ensure that the reforms and transformation that
he has begun will continue and will become permanent," he added.

Coloma was responding to questions on what made
the President change his mind on Charter Change.

Asked how the President would gauge the people
wishes, Coloma said many channels of information could serve as relevant
sources of information for the President.

In an exclusive interview with TV5 on Wednesday,
President Aquino said that the Constitution is not perfect and some of its
provisions are already obsolete and may need fine-tuning.

He said amending the Constitution can put limits
to the powers given to the Supreme Court, which appears to be frequently using
its power to check the Executive and Legislative branches of government.

He has to listen to his "bosses", the
Chief Executive said, clarifying however that his statement did not necessarily
mean that he would automatically go after a term extension.

He explained that “listening to his bosses”
means asking them how the reforms he had begun would remain beyond his term of
office.

The President had rejected moves to amend the
Constitution in the past, saying the country has done well even without
changing the Charter, especially its economic provisions. PND (as)